피렌체 산타 마리아 노벨라(Santa Maria Novella)의 스트로치 예배실(Cappella Strozzi)에 그려진 지옥은 단테의 『신곡』 중 지옥의 내용을 반영하고 있다. 조토의 지옥과 가장 다른 점은 고통 받는 자들의 죄목을 구분하여 서로 다른 구획에 넣은 구성이라는 점이다. 그리고 각 구획의 아래에는 이들의 죄목을 글로서 분명히 밝혀주고 있다. 화면 제일 위 가운데부터 시작하는 지옥의 장면들은 단테의 『신곡』 지옥편 제3곡부터 가장 아래에 그려진 제34곡에 이르기까지의 장면을 묘사하고 있다. 그러나 이 지옥장면이 단테의 지옥을 그대로 묘사한 것은 아니다. 우선 단테는 지옥을 9개의 원으로 구성하여 제1원은 넓고 아래로 내려갈수록 점점 좁아지는 마치 팽이 같은 구조인데 반하여, 나르도 디 치오네가 그린 지옥은 평면의 구조를 지니고 있다.
그럼 14세기 중엽 이후 왜 이렇게 공포스러우면서도 죄목이 구체적인 지옥이 필요하였을까? 지옥을 중세문화사적 개념으로 풀어낸 바쉐(Baschet)는 지옥을 통하여 “교회는 신만이 가질 수 있는 죽음의 권력을 지상에서 조종하였다.”고 말한다. 한편으로 죄의식을 갖게 만들고 참회하는 자를 면죄해 줌으로써 교회는 권위를 갖게 되었기 때문이다. 독소와 해독제를 동시에 주는 “병 주고 약 주기” 전략의 권력 메커니즘이라 할 수 있다. 지옥의 이미지들은 보는 이를 위협하여 잠재적인 죄인으로 만든다. 죄목 별로 체계적으로 배치된 지옥장면을 보면서 ‘나의 죄는 어디에 해당하는지’ 언어로 기억하기 쉽게 도와주며, ‘나는 무엇을 고백해야하는지’ 고해성사를 준비하게 한다. 때문에 지옥의 이미지들은 공포의 담론일 뿐만 아니라 고해성사의 담론이라고 말할 수 있다. 이미지는 이에 큰 효과를 발휘하는 매체역할을 한 것이다.In the images of Last judgment in the 14th Century Italy, the orderly paradise and the chaotic hell are well contrasted. The interesting point is that the paradise is unachievable ideal world, whereas the hell is fulfilled with real life scenes. In the middle of the 14th Century there is a paint that represents the hell of the Divine Comedy of Dante and 7 Capital Sins are painted in a very systematic way. In this paper I will examine and compare those types of hell images and think about the use and effect of them.
In the hell image of the Scrovegni Chapel commissioned by the businessman Enrico Scrovegni, we can see many sinners with a money bag and clergymen; the usurer, the simony of the cardinal with mitra and the monk with carnal desire. When we consider the hell image of this chapel in relation to the 7 virtues and vices painted in grisaille at the bottom of both side walls, it is clear that Justice/Injustice is most emphasized among the 7 virtues and vices and social evils are put in the hell. In the hell of the Scrovegni Chapel, while the moral sinner 'Gluttony' or 'Sloth' is not covered, the social evils of that era, 'Avarice', 'Envy' and simony are covered very often. In certain sense, under the form of the judgment of God, in fact, it warns and accuses the social evils in reality.
The hell scene of the Strozzi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence reflects the hell of Dante's Divine Comedy. The most different fact with Giotto's hell is the composition in which it categorizes the sinners based on their names of crime like Dante's hell. And the names of crime are written at the bottom of each division. The spectacle of the hell beginning from the top reflects the Dante's hell which is described from the third song to the 34th song all through the bottom. But it is not the accurate illustration of it. Most of all Dante's hell have a construction with a top large circle of upside and gradually narrower circles of down side, but Strozzi Chapel's hell has a flat composition.
In the hell of the Camposanto in Pisa, there are represented 7 Capital Sins of Catholic constructed in a systematic way; Vanity, Avarice, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. Let's compare the Camposanto's hell with Scrovegni's. Most of all Scrovegni's hell occupies 1/5 of the Last judgment. On the other hand, Camposanto's hell scene is almost equal with the Last judgment. In the composition, the former is painted as one chaotic space, the latter is systematically divided into 7 divisions based on the names of the sins. In terms of the types of the sins, the former covers the social sins like simony, lust and usurer, On the contrary, the latter deals with the moral 7 Capital Sins. The ways of representation have bigger difference. The former presents like 'this is the criminal' by the scene with the commitment of criminal, the latter focuses on showing severeness of the punishment in the hell, and the names of the sins are written. The former has a message like ‘This is the sin that obstructs the social justice.’ On the other hand, the latter instructs menacingly ‘If you commit this criminal, you will be punished like this in the hell.’
Then why does the society of the 14th Century need this kind of hell of fear with the names of the sins. Jerome Bascet who interpreted the hell in the concept of cultural history, insisted that through the hell “The Church controlled power of death that only God can have in the earth.” The church makes people feel guilty on the one hand and gives the indulgence to the repenter. It is a kind of power mechanism that messes with the viewers. The images of the hell threaten the beholder and make them latent sinners. By seeing the hell images they memorize ‘what is my sin’, and prepare ‘What I have to confess.’ Therefore, the hell images are not only the discussion of fear, but also the discussion of confession. Images took a role of media which makes a great effect.